Nick

Well, we are "back in the saddle" here at the lodge after a very trying couple of weeks.

  Two weeks ago my brother called to tell me that his sixteen year old son was in intensive care in a hospital in Albuquerque.  He was in a coma after suffering heart failure while practicing with his high school cross country team.  I made a quick trip to Albuquerque and stayed for a weekend until he seemed to be stable and out of immediate danger, though still in a coma.  Our oldest daughter and a family friend worked at the lodge in my place taking care of the group we had in (thanks guys!).  After returning home, Juanita and I loaded up the truck for our vacation to Arizona this year, which involved delivering a horse trailer to a friend  at his ranch in the southern part of the state, near the Chiricahua National Monument and then going to visit our son and his family near Phoenix.  We dropped off the trailer and we were preparing to do some riding in the area, when my brother called to tell me his son had passed away shortly after a surgery to install a feeding tube.

  You read about young athletes having heart failure in the newspapers, or hear about them on the news.  But never think it will happen to anyone you love.

Rest in peace, Nick.  Sixteen years wasn't nearly long enough to know you.

Damn.

Bill